NHL Notebook: Buffalo and Utah take Byram and McBain to arbitration

We are officially entering the dog days of summer. There’s no more hockey to watch, and all the big-name free agents have found their new teams. However, there are reports out there that this could be a big week for trades and offer sheets. But after the never-ending hype of draft day, when all the insiders say, ‘this draft should be very active on the trade market,’ and it never comes to fruition, I’m just not buying it.

11 RFAs filed for salary arbitration this past week: Morgan Barron (Winnipeg Jets), Lukas Dostal (Anaheim Ducks), Drew Helleson (Anaheim Ducks), Kaapo Kakko (Seattle Kraken), Nicolas Robertson (Toronto Maple Leafs), Dylan Samberg (Winnipeg Jets), Arvid Soderblom (Chicago Blackhawks), Jayden Struble (Montreal Canadiens), Conor Timmins (Buffalo Sabres), Maxim Tsyplakov (New York Islanders), and Gabe Vilardi (Winnipeg Jets).

However, we also saw two teams extend their right to file for salary arbitration with their players, too.

Sabres and Mammoth file for arbitration with Byram and McBain

The Buffalo Sabres and Utah Mammoth have filed for salary arbitration with defenceman Bowen Byram and centreman Jack McBain.

Here is how PuckPedia outlines the details of what happens when the team files for salary arbitration:

“If a player made $2.43M or more in the last season, the Arbitration award must be 85% of their previous season pay or more. If the team elects arbitration, the player can still sign an offer sheet with another team prior to July 5 at 5pm, which would negate the team elected arbitration.  The Team must elect the arbitration by 5pm on the later of June 15 or 48 hours after the Stanley Cup Finals ends.

“The arbitrator can only award a 1 or 2 year contract. The party that did not elect the arbitration selects the term (if the player selected arbitration, the team selects 1 or 2 year term).  Players that are only 1 year away from being a UFA can only have a 1 year contract awarded.”

With the July 5 deadline past, neither Byram nor McBain can sign offer sheets with other teams. However, they now have the advantage of picking the term of their next contract. Of course, both parties can work out a trade or extension before it gets to arbitration, but it does protect the team from losing their player to an offer sheet.

Both Byram and McBain can elect a two-year term, which would walk both players straight to unrestricted free agency in 2027-2028. This would give the players back all of the leverage.

In Byram’s case, this appears to be a move to buy the team more time to orchestrate a trade. But in McBain’s case, the two parties are looking toward an extension.

Now to put our Canucks-tinted glasses on…

It always seemed like a pipe dream that the Canucks would make a move for Byram this offseason given the state of their blueline. However, with the reports of Byram wanting to play in Vancouver, if he does sign a two-year deal and walks himself straight to free agency, this could set up nicely for the Canucks to get another crack at bringing him to his home province.

However, if he’s traded, he could sign a lengthy extension with his new team, effectively guaranteeing that he would not be coming to Vancouver.